Oxford - Osney lock to Gibraltar bridge 216

18 August - back on to the canal system

Up and about at 7am, breakfast and blog and on the move by 9.00, after about half a mile we turned into the Sheepwash channel and moved onto the Oxford canal proper, and yes they did wash sheep here in the Middle Ages.

 Our view for the night near Osney Lock

 Turning off The River Thames into Sheepwash - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheepwash_Channel

 Isis is what Oxford calls the Thames - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Isis

 Oxford Canal and our first lock for the day

 We have just spent 10 days on the River Thames and this is the first notice showing condition of river and also the necessity of licence. We had been on River for 3 days before anyone mentioned it to us and paid for 7 days then, this expired today.

Goodbye River Thames and on through the suburbs of Oxford, with narrow locks and small lift up pull down bridges.

Lift bridge instructions and lifts, tricky little buggers if you put them to high up they are very heavy to pull down on the small chain they have

We got as far as Dukes Cut and lock which is the other link to the river and as we passed there that was the river over with for good.

 Dukes Cut

A cruise through farmland and villages saw us stopping at The Jolly Boatman at Thrupp for lunch, Vicki had her favourite Fish Pie 9/10 and I had Steak and Ale Pie with carrots, neeps and mash, 8/10.

Parked outside The Jolly Boatman - http://www.jollyboatman.com/

Golly gosh another pub, just for a change

I got to drive into three locks today, even managed one after the pub

We moved on into the afternoon and stopped at 4pm at the 24 hr moorings at the Rock of Gibraltar, funny how there seems to be moorings at pubs.

 Saw this chimney in the distance and eventually it gets larger as you get towards it, we finally figured out it was a cement factory, nearer the factory the bush has a lot of dust on them.

Big satellites in the distance ojust before you get to Gibraltar - Earth Stations or big brother watching - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enslow

A nice change to be back on canals after almost 113 miles and 36 large automated locks on the Thames, on the river you move faster but the boat noise is louder, the tiller is a harder job with far more concentration required to watch for floating objects Canoes, swimmers, Gin palaces,etc. Mooring on the river are fewer and hard to find some days, but an experience not to be missed as part of the waterways.

TOTAL - 9 miles, 7 locks, 7 lift bridges (1 left open and 1 automatic)